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Government hides identities of Waco witnessesBy Terry Ganey When lawyers for the Branch Davidians sat down recently to question a government witness about what happened at Waco, they found themselves looking at a black screen. The witness, a member of the Army's highly classified Delta Force, was hidden behind a screen that had been erected in a doorway of a room in a building in Washington. Four attorneys for the Defense Department and the Justice Department were positioned so they could see the witness's face and confer with him about his answers. But for the Branch Davidian lawyers asking the questions, the witness remained in a shadow world. And when the interview was over, the Branch Davidian lawyers had to allow time for the witness to depart. "We had to wait in the room for 10 minutes before we could leave, so we couldn't see him," said Mike Caddell, the lead attorney for the Branch Davidians. The episode is an example of the elaborate security that the federal government has erected around the identities of some of the witnesses to the 1993 siege at Waco. While members of the highly classified Delta Force get super-secret treatment, the lawyers also cannot ask for personal identifying information of some other witnesses, such as FBI agents. The government says the precautions are necessary to ensure the safety of federal employees, especially those who participated in the final assault on the Branch Davidians' Mount Carmel complex near Waco, Texas. Justification for the precautions is demonstrated, the government adds, by the fact that some agents of the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms who have been linked to Waco have been threatened and harassed. "Similarly, two individuals who were involved in this matter in connection with their duties in the Department of Defense have recently received threats to themselves or their families that included references to the Branch Davidian incident," according to a Justice Department motion filed in federal court. The motion is part of a debate between the Justice Department and the Branch Davidian lawyers over how much information being collected about the Waco incident should become public. Branch Davidian lawyers believe the government has gone overboard by blocking identification of some witnesses and disclosure of documents and interview information. Newspapers have begun to weigh in on the issues. The Dallas Morning News has filed a motion asking a court to open records relating to what happened at Waco. The Post-Dispatch plans to join in that motion today. "Attorney's eyes only" Branch Davidians who were injured during the government's assault and survivors of those who were killed have filed a wrongful death suit against the government. As the May 15 trial date approaches, their lawyers are collecting information through interviews and documents for use at the trial. Earlier this month, for example, Caddell and other lawyers for the plaintiffs interviewed 24 witnesses in Washington. It will be up to U.S. District Judge Walter Smith Jr., who is presiding over the trial, to determine how much of the information, if any, can become public. The government wants much of the information to be treated as confidential. Justice Department lawyers have argued that the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, is an example of the kind of retribution government workers face because of Waco. The government has said that Timothy McVeigh, convicted in the bombing that killed 168 people, acted out of revenge for what happened at Waco. The bombing took place on the second anniversary of the government's final assault on Mount Carmel. "Likewise, the federal law enforcement officers involved in this case have been subject to threats and harassment from certain groups and individuals who disagree with the events at the Branch Davidian compound," a Justice Department motion said. Under an order Judge Smith issued in October, Caddell is prohibited from disclosing what was said during the interviews. Additionally, many documents that the government has turned over to the plaintiffs have been stamped "confidential" or "attorney's eyes only," meaning that they cannot be made public. Under the court order, the plaintiffs can challenge the "confidential" designations, and Caddell has done so. He has also suggested disclosing the information from the documents and the interviews with the names of witnesses and identifying characteristics blacked out. "Recognizing the national importance of this matter and the substantial public interest in having access to information concerning the events at Mount Carmel in 1993, the plaintiffs believe that all non-sensitive information concerning those events should be made publicly available," Caddell said in documents filed with the court. The Dallas Morning News' motion said the government's wholesale designation of the records as confidential amounted to an attempt to persuade the judge to enter a "blanket ruling that would shroud an indeterminate amount of government documents in secrecy." The newspaper said that approach ran counter to the concept of open courts, public trials and "unnecessarily impedes the public's ability to gain a greater understanding about the Branch Davidian raid." In documents to be filed in Waco today, the Post-Dispatch will seek to intervene in the case to oppose the government. The Post-Dispatch said the effect of the government's confidential designations is to deprive U.S. citizens with access to numerous documents of significant public interest. The Post-Dispatch also said the safety of government agents can be maintained by blacking out personal identifying information in those cases where the government makes a good cause showing that disclosure of a particular person or class of people would potentially endanger them. In addition, the Post-Dispatch argues there is no good cause for withholding complete documents simply because they may disclose the identity of a not previously disclosed governmental official or agent involved in the Waco siege, raid and aftermath, when through the relatively simple process of redaction, the concerns noted by the government could be satisfied. About 80 people were killed on April 19, 1993, at the end of the FBI's tank and tear-gas assault on the Branch Davidian complex. Most people died during a fire that engulfed the complex but some died of bullet wounds. The attack ended a 51-day siege that began when agents of the ATF raided the complex to arrest the sect's leader, David Koresh, and to search for illegal weapons. Four agents and six Branch Davidians were killed in a gunfight that erupted during the raid. No huge surprises Interviews by the Branch Davidians' lawyers are only one part of the questioning that Waco witnesses have been facing recently. Investigators for the House Government Reform Committee and the Office of Special Counsel John Danforth, the former Missouri senator, also have been talking to the participants. One investigator, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the interrogations have turned up no huge surprises. No member of the FBI's hostage rescue team, which surrounded the complex on the last day, has said he witnessed gunfire. "I'm not expecting someone to blurt this out," the investigator added. Still, there are the FBI's infrared camera films that show flashes of light from government positions. Some experts have interpreted that to be gunfire. The FBI has said all along that none of its agents fired weapons. Caddell said that while he could not discuss the specifics of what was said in the interviews, he could say he heard no credible explanation for the flashes on the infrared film. "The one thing that came through loud and clear was that no one has ever seen flashes like this on an FBI FLIR (forward looking infrared) before," Caddell said. A court-supervised test to determine whether gunfire shows up on infrared film will take place before mid-March. Caddell also said the depositions made him much more interested in the activities of the Delta Force at Waco. Government documents indicate three Delta members were present as observers. "Prior to the depositions, I had personally discounted the possibility that there was any active Delta force involvement on April 19," Caddell said. "Following the depositions, I believe that is a very real possibility. I don't mean by that I think there was a squad of Delta Force operators assigned to take out David Koresh. But I think it's entirely possible that a very small number, perhaps only one or two, actively participated in the assault." Caddell said two Delta technical advisers who had been interviewed could not account for the activities of a third Delta Force member during the hours of the final assault. Active involvement by the Army's Delta Force would violate a federal law prohibiting military involvement in civilian matters without special presidential approval. A FBI spokesman has discounted the possibility of Delta Force involvement, saying the agency would not have wanted to share the duty. Caddell said he expected to conduct two more rounds of depositions, including questioning of the third Delta Force member and other FBI hostage rescue team agents who were at the rear of the Mount Carmel complex. Investigators for Congress and Danforth's office are also expected to be interviewing into February. "There were 730 people involved at Waco on April 19," an investigator said. "A whole cross section is being interviewed. The investigation is like an onion. You just keep peeling back the layers."
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